Tottenham's Ryan Mason wants to become one of England's best

Tottenham's Ryan Mason wants to make himself one of England's best midfielders.

The 24-year-old has recently returned from injury to find fierce competition for his place in Spurs' midfield, with Eric Dier, Dele Alli and Mousa Dembele in superb form.

Mason was drafted into the England squad for the friendly against France earlier this month however, and he has heaped praise on head coach Mauricio Pochettino for developing English talent at Tottenham.

"This gaffer is probably one of the best around for giving young players the opportunity and exposure to play in the Premier League," Mason told Sky Sports ahead his side's trip to Qarabag in the Europa League on Thursday.

"You trust these players. If you're good enough you'll play. Age is irrelevant, experience is irrelevant. You get that experience from having the exposure and playing.

"It's great for the England international team. For the France game we had five Tottenham players involved and the possibility to have seven or eight in the squad is likely.

"I'm working hard to get back in there and I'm confident of my ability. There is plenty of talented English midfielders so it's down to me to put in the performances to make it impossible for the England manager not to include me."

Spurs are unbeaten in the Premier League since the opening day of the season and lifted themselves to within a point of the top four with a 4-1 thrashing of West Ham on Super Sunday, and are also top of Europa League Group J.

They host struggling Chelsea this weekend but Mason insists they are not getting ahead of themselves as pundits and supporters suggest they could have a shot at the Premier League title this term.

"We can't get carried away with ourselves. We've been doing brilliantly recently but football can change quickly," he said.

"We are young, we are eager to learn and we are working hard on the training pitch. The gaffer isn't going to mention winning the Premier League.

"Chelsea's experience beat us on the day in the League Cup final last season, but we are not looking for so called revenge. We want to continue doing well for ourselves and doing well for the club and the fans.

"Let's not forget they won the league last year. We know it's going to be difficult but we are confident we can beat anyone at the moment, especially at the Lane."